Low Brow Lounge

BarFly's Review of Low Brow Lounge

Something of a boutique dive bar with rotating art, back-lit wall of Jager bottles, corn dog & tater tots special and bartenders so perfectly surly they must be coached in unpleasantness, the Low Brow has a weirdly intricate design - the back room's elevated for no apparent reason with one booth resembling a palatial Elizabethan bed; of course, it's eternally so murky and smoke-filled, it's best appreciated by feel.

That famed service and pitch black atmospherics and insanely loud garage punk attract a healthy rocker contingent and thankfully repels the actual area condo-pes while maintaining a small thirty-something micro klatch grabbing intimate tables in the bar room to yell reminiscences through the dark.

Reader Reviews

Low Brow Lounge has
2
out of 5
based on 4 ratings and
20 user reviews.

hotties and gooood drinks.

everyone there is super nice, cheap drinks and delicious food. last time i went, hot bartender man brought me and my friend two (!) free baskets of tater tots because they were 'too crispy'.

i really really love this place, probably the only bar in sw that i ever want to go to.

Reviewed Anonymously by margot on July 19, 2014, 2:05 am

Where's my receipt?

Service was slow and I was overcharged for two of my drinks and another drink that I didn't order ended up on my tab somehow. I asked for a receipt and the bartender got mad at me because he couldn't find it in his disfunctional pile of paper shavings. No thanks.

Reviewed Anonymously by Jason Marks on March 3, 2014, 4:48 pm

Unfortunate

Terribly unpleasant staff. I didn't know that one could be refused service based on their political beliefs. I never thought that day would come in Portland. I love our liberal enclave of Oregon and doubt that I would ever revisit this atrocity. The Pearl has much more to offer.

Reviewed Anonymously by askalice on January 10, 2011, 1:04 am

Low Brow

I have had a good time every single time I have been there. The snax are great and the bartenders have always been very nice to me.

Reviewed Anonymously by Katy on September 7, 2010, 11:47 am

High Balled by the Low Brow

The service was poor, and bartenders pretentious, and the charge to my bank account was inaccurate. I have a carbon copy imprint of the receipt I signed on the receipt I saved--how a tab gets increased by $7 after the patron has signed their bill is beyond me, but I do know that it is bad business.

Two thumbs down, Low Brow.

Reviewed Anonymously by Definitely Not jj on May 19, 2010, 10:45 am

Love the LB

I've been going to the LB for 10 years, and the reason I love the low brow is for all the reason other posters are complianing about.I have always been treated very well, except when I acting like a drunk baffoon, at which point they kicked me out, which I deserved. LB is a real dive. They won't take your crap. They will tell you to get the hell out, and I love them for that. To hell with " the cusotmer is always right" if you want " the cusotmer is always right" kinda bar, then go to one of the many yuppy bars in the neighborhood!

Reviewed Anonymously by Amanda G on March 15, 2010, 5:04 pm

Lower than Low!

Just had an awful evening at the LB. I come here to voice my opinion and how funny, other people are having problems with this place too. I loved the LB once. Took all my friends there but won't bother to do that anymore.
I ordered a drink and food. Drank my drink slowly while waiting on some friends to show up. First drink gone, OK I ordered another. Drank that slowly and still no food. Finally my friends showed up and ordered drinks and during my third drink my food arrives, cold! I don't eat it. I ask the waitress for a warm up on the food and she refuses saying it was hot when it came. I've now drank 4 drinks but have no intention of paying for cold, late, bar food. She proceeds to try and close our tab and throw us out. This is for shit. Who the hell hired this crazy woman? After reading a couple posts below I'm wondering if she was the owner. If she was she should stay home and collect her profit check and buy designer purses or something and leave the public interaction to the professionals, the hard working, friendly (probably underpaid) staff that have served me here for years. I'll miss them.

Reviewed Anonymously by Jamie on April 7, 2009, 8:38 pm

What has happend to the Low Brow?

I've frequented the Low Brow for 6 years and loved the dark seedy atmosphere, the music, and the friendly bartender guy in shorts, but tonight was a rude awakening. I was meeting a friend there at 6 PM and chose the dark corner booth (my favorite booth). I had ordered my drink and settled in to mull over the menu and unwind from a busy work day. The music was at a fine level when I arrived and since I hadn't seen my friend for a year I looked forward to catching up with good conversation over drinks. Ten minutes later the bar staff cranked the volume of the music to a level impossible to have a conversation over. Since the speaker was hanging directly over my table I asked the lady at the bar if it was possible to turn the music down a bit. I asked this in a polite and apologetic way hoping she would understand. Ten more minutes passed and the volume hadn't changed at all. I thought....maybe she'd gotten busy serving other people and forgot or whatever, so I walked over and said " I don't mean to be a pain in the ass, but is it possible to turn the music down just a little. I liked what was playing but it was just overwhelming. The woman behind the counter (brunette shoulder length hair) said that I could move to another part of the bar if I didn't like it and that they turned it up for happy hour for all the "other" customers. Her hostile attitude took me by surprise since I'd always felt nothing but welcome at the Low Brow and also since my request was in no way demanding. I just sat there stunned that she would talk to a customer this way. I just sat there and said I wasn't interested in moving since I was to meet my friend in that side of the bar. She then said....I don't like the "negative vibe" coming off of you and I'm cashing you out. She then called me a bitch for making the request twice! I could not believe what I was hearing! Who the hell acts like this? Who treats customers like this? What new age freak spouts off about "negative vibes" in a dive bar? I was so astounded by this childish behavior I went over to the bar to talk to the regular bartender guy and ask who the manager was. The insane female server intercepted me and said SHE was the owner and she would call the police if I didn't leave. Right.....the owner is working as a bar maid. If she is then she's the worst server I've ever encountered in my entire life and judging by the other reviews I've seen posted here she is driving people away in droves. In this economy we will gladly spend our drinking money elsewhere. My friend showed up and I steered him out the door feeling violated by this experience and generally distressed at how mean and out of control people let themselves become. The Low Brow was once a friendly oasis.....but no more.

Reviewed Anonymously by Adrian on March 4, 2009, 10:37 pm

Pdx oldstyle

After being away from Portland for 9 years, it was grand to revisit an old haunt that hadn't bent over and took the real estate ****. Thank you for serving real drinks and not pretending that your bar depended on gucci loafers and Prada clothes.
Low rent Nirvana!

So, I can remember the day when the Low Brow Lounge was “Keeping the Pearl Real”, after tonight I have had it. No shit, over the past month (3 times) I have been treated like shit there and will never go back. So, I know I have some obnoxious friends, but after a evening where most of us have been greeting a crowd in a non drinking environment (first Thursday), we (being 6 peep’s) where yelled at by a female owner for questioning if something (of all things food) had actually been delivered/charged to us. I feel bad for the servers because it was obviously under staffed. My question is; why take it off on patrons that have supported your business since the time you broke away from the “brothers”?
At first my friends where harassed by her, but when I tried to pull her aside and ask her then explain the issue at hand, she at first said that some of us could stay but then changed her mind mid sentence and proceeded to kick the rest of us out.

So, I guess if you question your bill, you are automatically kicked out of the Brow.
Again I must stress that the staff at the “Brow” was nothing but courteous, but this lady was a total….ya, I will leave that up to you. Warning: question your bill and you will get kicked out of the Low Brow!

Wow… I have been in pdx for 11 years and have never been treated the way I was treated tonight. I actually felt like I was in the Pearl and not Portland. In all honesty I hope that something changes and you (yes, you Low Brow) become what you used to be.

I call bullshit on Low Brow Lounge! If Its one of those things where you would like to cater to those people in the pearl then please let the rest of us know… I am sure that there is a bar on the other side of 405 that would appreciate the business….

Let Portland know… are you really catering to us, or just you rich neighbors?

Reviewed Anonymously by scotty on August 3, 2007, 3:14 am

Not bad.....

Prices are good, drinks are served promptly and honestly, it's just that it was a teensy weensy too dark and loud, but after a couple of stiff ones, who gives a s@#%$! right?

Reviewed Anonymously by Wayne on March 30, 2007, 2:24 pm

A Portland Favorite

One of my favorite places to drink. They pour a stiff drink, the prices are good and, as noted before, the tater tots are magically delicious! The interior is pretty dark, but then again that makes people look a lot better. The staff is very friendly and has fun with the patrons. This is a great place to meet before a show or spend the entire night.

Reviewed Anonymously by D on December 12, 2006, 11:27 am

"tokyo"

Oh yeah, Tokyo only has slick, glossy bars--nothing like the lowbrow. You need to either do a little exploring, learn to speak the language (if you can't), or pull yr head out of yr ass. The bar scene there is different, but there are hundreds, if not thousands of great places. Portland has lots of good bars, but it's a pretty small pond in comparison.

Reviewed Anonymously by yeah on June 4, 2006, 1:27 pm

Real deal

Honestly I miss the "Brow"...Im living in Tokyo with its super trendy glossy bars....yuck!! Its fun when thats what you are looking for...but to hang out with friends, stiff drinks, nice bartenders that can actually hold a conversation about real stuff And always feeling welcome!! I tip my hat to the staff at the Brow...surrounded by so called hip trendy bars..makes them look better and better!!! Mike, Regan, Cap...Youz Guyz are the best. K~

Reviewed Anonymously by Tokyo Kev on June 4, 2006, 1:41 am

we think this place is quite nice

if you would like to hide, in a dimly lit corner, and have a low key chat with your loved one or your chinchilla, this place is perfecto for you - make sure to scoff at the pupsties (this is neo slang for pearl district yuppies) on your walk to this spectacular bar, to this blemish in the otherwise all-too-sterile and hip pearl. SERIOUSLY - THIS PLACE IS WONDERFUL.

Reviewed Anonymously by joshua and niki on February 4, 2006, 8:52 pm

decent

like the atmosphere, no tv, they call it low brow for a reason. friendly patrons.

Reviewed Anonymously by Nu B on December 2, 2005, 6:09 pm

discriminates at LBL

Lowbrow is very selective about it's clientelle, which is strange seeing as it's smack in the middle of the tolerant, Pearl Dist. U gotta be cornfed, straight arrow if you want to hang out at this unclassy dive.

Reviewed Anonymously by JD on September 30, 2005, 9:59 pm

Piss on the Preps

This is one of the best spots to ditch the trendy crowds that tend to overpopulate the downtown bars. Excellent late night food and drinks, friendly staff, and prime location to just let loose.

Reviewed Anonymously by Michael S on July 10, 2005, 8:45 am

mmmmmm.....

Best damned tater tots ever....

Reviewed Anonymously by Jenny on March 23, 2005, 4:53 pm

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